Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that former major leaguer Barry Bonds is returning to spring training with the Giants as a coach for a second consecutive year. The organization is discussing an instruction role for him, per manager Bruce Bochy.
Bonds was well-received at Giants camp last year, so it’s no surprise to see him brought back. This could be another step towards a potential major league coaching role.
Bonds, now 50 years old, abruptly stopped playing after the 2007 season when no one wanted to sign him despite offering to play for the league minimum salary. The all-time leader in home runs with 762 and the runner-up in career WAR behind Babe Ruth, Bonds got only 36.8 percent of the vote in his third year on the Hall of Fame ballot. That’s up from 34.7 percent in his second year and ever so slightly above his 36.2 percent tally in his first year.